More than 1.1 million candidates nationwide have completed the 2025 high school graduation exam, many of whom aim to apply for scholarships to study abroad at the university level. However, the 2025 high school graduation exam is considered difficult, especially in math and English. Many students and parents are worried that if they unfortunately get low scores in math, or English, or both, will it make it more difficult to apply for scholarships to study abroad?
Difficult high school graduation exam - turning difficulties into opportunities
Responding to Thanh Nien Newspaper reporters this afternoon (July 2), Dr. Le Bao Thang, Director of OSI Vietnam InternationalEducation Consulting Company, said that applying for a scholarship to study abroad is not only based on the candidate's score. At the same time, this year, in the 2025 high school graduation exam, the math and English exam questions were assessed as difficult, and this is also the general situation for students nationwide, not just in any particular region.
Students learn about study abroad scholarships at the booth during the 2025 Exam Season Consulting Festival of Thanh Nien Newspaper
PHOTO: THUY HANG
Speaking more about the fact that the scholarship for studying abroad is not only based on scores, Dr. Le Bao Thang said that the scholarship is also based on many other factors. In which, students need to prove that they have a lot of potential and the ability to unleash and develop this potential in the future, how it is related to the school they are applying for the scholarship, specifically with the feasible solutions of that student...
"I want to emphasize to students and parents that candidates who are looking for scholarships to study abroad can be quick and make this an important piece of information in their scholarship essays. That is, you can both update this current news (the 2025 high school graduation exam has many difficult subjects, especially math and English) to the admissions board of the university where you are applying for a scholarship; and through that, you can show the examiner what experience you have learned from this story. Such as how to change the way you study in the future, how to deal with this problem... These details in the essay can also help the candidate's essay become special, different, and more advantageous," said Dr. Le Bao Thang.
A student's application for a study abroad scholarship consists of many components.
At the online consultation program "How to conquer English, study abroad scholarships?" organized by Thanh Nien Newspaper this afternoon (July 2), Mr. Tran Thien Minh, IELTS and SAT teacher at DOL English, who twice achieved IELTS 9.0, won a high school scholarship in the US, and graduated with honors from RMIT University, Australia, said that students should not worry too much. Because the scholarship application file includes many components, from essays, school records of the school years, the interview process, extracurricular activities during the entire time you are studying... Therefore, candidates or parents should also relax and not worry too much about the 2025 high school graduation exam scores.
Mr. Tran Thien Minh, who twice achieved a perfect IELTS score of 9.0, won a high school scholarship in the US, and graduated with honors from RMIT University, Australia.
PHOTO: LE THANH HAI
Ms. Do Thi Ngoc Anh, IELTS teacher at DOL English, IELTS score 8.5, scholarship winner and bachelor of economics with honors, University of Finance (under the Russian Government), shared: "I understand that many students and parents are worried about the high school exam results, especially with the difficulty of the math and English questions. However, I want to emphasize that finding a scholarship to study abroad is a comprehensive assessment process, and the influence of high school exam scores is a little but not significant if you have good preparation in other aspects."
Ms. Ngoc Anh, who also won a scholarship and graduated with a master's degree in finance with honors from the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol), UK, and was awarded the title of "International Ambassador" during her university years, added: "Foreign universities will look at the candidate's learning process, including the GPA - average score - of the entire high school level, consistent academic performance over the years, and especially international certificates such as IELTS, SAT, or AP. If the student's high school exam score is not really good, but he or she has a good transcript, along with high international certificates (especially having an English certificate early with good scores), then that can still completely compensate. Moreover, foreign schools also highly appreciate extracurricular activities, soft skills, and personal essays that demonstrate the candidate's personality and ambitions."
"If students do not get a perfect score in the high school exam, but demonstrate their efforts, ability to overcome difficulties, and other achievements in social activities or personal projects, those are still huge plus points. Therefore, students should not worry too much about a single exam, but focus on building a comprehensive and impressive profile," said Ms. Ngoc Anh.
Ms. Ngoc Anh won a scholarship and graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics with honors from the University of Finance (under the Russian Government ).
PHOTO: NVCC
Opportunity for students to change their learning methods
According to Ms. Ngoc Anh, the high school graduation exam is considered difficult, especially math and English, which is also an opportunity for students to change their approach to studying. They should learn more thoughtfully, learn to the point, apply to that point, learn selectively; and the ability to self-study and self-discover is also very important. Difficult questions are also an opportunity - a challenge for everyone to look at and change their way of studying.
Citing her own experience, when she received a full university scholarship from the Russian Government and later a master's scholarship in the UK, Ms. Ngoc Anh said that she had worked hard throughout her high school years. She tried to maintain her academic performance in all subjects - aiming for a high GPA. At the same time, she started learning English very early and aimed to pass IELTS, spending a lot of time practicing all four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing.
"Experience shows that students can apply the Linearthinking method in the learning process. That is, instead of memorizing or studying in a scattered way, focus on understanding the essence, building logic and systematizing knowledge. This not only helps me master the lesson but also saves me a lot of time. That time, I spend participating in extracurricular activities, Youth Union activities, social work... I believe that the combination of good academic scores, excellent English and rich social experience is the formula to successfully conquer valuable study abroad scholarships", Ms. Ngoc Anh shared.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/de-thi-tieng-anh-toan-tot-nghiep-thpt-kho-co-anh-huong-xin-hoc-bong-du-hoc-185250702175102653.htm
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